Criminal Justice News

Wednesday, June 10, 2015

Deputy Sheriff Convicted for Withholding Evidence Favorable to a Defendant

Three Deputies Also Convicted of Obstructing Justice by
Covering Up a Fellow Officer’s Use of Force

A federal jury in Albany, Georgia, today convicted three
sheriff’s deputies on various federal offenses related to the cover-up of a
2012 incident in which a fourth deputy used force during the arrest of a
civilian.The charges against Decatur
County Captain Elizabeth Croley, Decatur County Deputy Christopher Kines and
Decatur County Deputy Robert Wade Umbach related to a September 2012 incident
in which former Grady County Deputy Sheriff Wiley Griffin, IV—who is the son of
Decatur County Sheriff Wiley Griffin, III— used force against Aaron Parrish
during an arrest at the Bainbridge BikeFest.The jury found that Croley, Kines and Umbach obstructed justice when
they later helped cover up defendant Griffin’s actions.Specifically, the jury convicted Croley of
obstructing justice by writing a false report and convicted Kines and Umbach of
engaging in misleading conduct by lying to an FBI agent about the
incident.Croley was also convicted of
violating Aaron Parrish’s constitutionally protected right to a fair trial by
intentionally withholding material exculpatory evidence from the District
Attorney’s Office, and, in turn from Aaron Parrish’s criminal defense attorney,
during a criminal prosecution of Parrish arising out of the same BikeFest
incident.

Croley, Kines and Umbach will be sentenced by the Honorable
W. Louis Sands, Senior U.S.District Court Judge for the Middle District of
Georgia, at a later date to be set by the court.

The same jury that convicted the three Decatur County
officers of obstruction acquitted Griffin on a civil rights count charging him
with having used excessive force against Parrish and acquitted Kines and Umbach
of obstructing justice by writing false reports.

During a trial that lasted more than two weeks, the jury
heard evidence that Griffin struck Parrish in the eye with a metal flashlight
while Parrish was being restrained on the ground by other deputies, including
Kines and Umbach.The government
presented evidence that Captain Croley and Deputies Kines and Umbach then
helped cover up the incident by, among other things, Croley writing a false
report and Kines and Umbach misleading the FBI by stating that they did not see
Griffin at the scene.

The government also presented evidence that, after Parrish
complained to the Decatur County Sheriff’s Office about the abuse he had
suffered at BikeFest, the Sheriff’s Office opened a criminal investigation led
by Croley that eventually resulted in felony criminal charges against
Parrish.During that investigation,
Croley took a witness statement from a civilian eyewitness who provided information
that would have been materially helpful to Parrish’s defense.However, rather than providing that statement
to the District Attorney so that it could then be provided to Parrish’s defense
attorney for use at trial, Croley intentionally removed the exculpatory
statement from the case file.This
conduct formed the basis of the civil rights charge on which defendant Croley
was convicted.

At sentencing, Croley will face a maximum sentence of 20
years for her false report and one year for the civil rights violation
involving hiding exculpatory evidence.Kines and Umbach face maximum sentences of 20 years for making
misleading statements to the FBI.

“As the jury recognized through its verdict, there are
serious consequences when law enforcement officers lie to cover up the
misconduct of a fellow officer and when an officer intentionally stacks the
deck against an accused person by hiding evidence that could show the person’s
innocence,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Vanita Gupta of the
Civil Rights Division.“When officers
engage in this type of outrageous behavior, the Department of Justice stands
ready to enforce the law and protect the civil rights of all Americans.”

“This case reflects that the rule of law applies to all and
that the FBI will present for prosecution the facts as it finds them,” said
Special Agent in Charge J. Britt Johnson of the FBI Atlanta Field Office.“Today's verdicts conclude an extensive
investigation and prosecution that needed to be heard and the FBI is satisfied
that it was."

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of
Investigation and was prosecuted by Trial Attorneys Christine M. Siscaretti and
Risa Berkower of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, with support
from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Georgia.